Candace Parker is a walking meme.
And she knows it.
"If you wanna know what I think, just look at my face," Parker told Insider.
Between her illustrious professional basketball career and her recent work as an NBA television analyst for TNT, the two-time WNBA champion and two-time league MVP has watched herself become a meme — "an image, a video, a piece of text, etc. that is passed very quickly from one internet user to another, often with slight changes that make it humorous," per Oxford Learner's Dictionaries — on several occasions.
Make a big play? Meme.
—ESPN (@espn) October 10, 2021
TV co-host — usually Shaq — says something questionable? Meme.
—𝐕𝐢𝐜. (@victoriamcbryde) December 22, 2021
A referee makes a bad call mid-game? Meme.
—The Sky Show CHI (@TheSkyShowCHI) July 14, 2021
Become the face of a major video game franchise? Meme.
—Matt Ellentuck (@mellentuck) July 20, 2021
Watch a particularly close March Madness contest? Meme.
—meredith minkow (@murrminks) March 23, 2022
She comes by it honestly.
"I've always had memeable expressions," Parker said. "It's a gift and a curse. It just happens."
"My daughter has a lot of fun with it, I'll tell you that," she added with a laugh, referring to her 13-year-old, Lailaa.
Parker has leaned into her status as the internet's meme queen. She put her unparalleled reactions to good use in a recent commercial for CarMax, when a representative for the company is "on the mic, and he's shouting out" Parker's height and hometown as if introducing her for a game:
"It works in my favor sometimes," Parker said. "But other times, it's just a dinner table making fun of me or laughing at me."
Fans can catch her meme-worthy moments on "NBA on TNT" and during the upcoming WNBA season. Parker, who signed with the Las Vegas Aces in a surprise free agency move this offseason, is set to make her debut with the reigning champions on May 20.
